Foreign Letters

Bud Werner Memorial Library and the Steamboat Springs Arts Council present a 2012 award-winning American comedy directed by Ela Thier.

“Foreign Letters is an unsentimental coming of age film that is itself a love letter to the unshakeable bond between friends…Thier establishes herself as a powerful new voice in independent American cinema.” - Susan Starkman, Toronto Jewish Film Festival

About the filmEllie, a 12-year-old immigrant girl from Israel, is lonely and homesick. Life brightens when she meets Thuy, a Vietnamese refugee her age. Trust slowly builds as the two teach each other about life in America. As Ellie and Thuy become inseparable, they eventually hurt and betray each other. Ellie must give up her most prized possession in order to save their friendship. Based on the filmmaker's own experience, Foreign Letters is a story about prejudice, poverty, shame, and the power of friendship to heal us. The film features the music of iconic Israeli musician Chava Alberstein, who was the director's favorite musician when her family immigrated to the US in 1982.

Watch the trailer

In English, Hebrew and Vietnamese with English subtitlesRun time: 100 min.